On September 29, 2023, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) issued its final determination in the first administrative review of countervailing duties on car tires from Vietnam.
On September 6, 2022, the DOC initiated the review of countervailing duties based on a proposal from one Vietnamese exporting company (Bridgestone Tire Manufacturing Vietnam, LLC) covering the period from October 10, 2020, to December 31, 2021.
On July 21, 2023, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a preliminary determination and invited related parties to submit comments within the specified deadline. On August 21, 2023, the DOC received a request (a case brief) from one related party. When no other related party submitted a similar request within the deadline, the DOC proceeded with the review as per the regulations outlined in Section 751 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended.
The goods under review, as stated in the review notice, are passenger car tires and light truck tires. Passenger car tires and light truck tires are new pneumatic rubber tires, designed for use on passenger cars or light trucks. These tires can be of the type with or without studs, directional or non-directional, and they may be sold to original equipment manufacturers or in the replacement market.
Final determination on first administrative review of countervailing duties on car tires from Vietnam
Based on the examination of information from relevant parties, including the government and exporting businesses investigated from Vietnam to the United States, the petitioner, the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), AFL-CIO, CLC, the United Steelworkers, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the DOC preliminarily determined that Bridgestone received no specific subsidies/benefits from the Government of Vietnam for 26 out of 27 alleged programs.
For the remaining one alleged program concerning currency undervaluation, the final countervailing duty rate imposed on the company was 1.34% for the period from November 10 to December 31, 2020 (an increase of 0.08% from the preliminary rate of 1.26% due to a calculation error by the DOC) and 0% for the period from January 1 to December 31, 2021, based on information from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Therefore, the final duty rate significantly reduced compared to the current rate applicable to Bridgestone, which is 6.46%.
Additionally, on September 11, 2023, the DOC also published a notice initiating the second administrative review of countervailing duties on car tires imported from Vietnam to the U.S. market for the review period from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022.
Within 35 days from the date of publication of the initiation notice (by October 16, 2023), the DOC will select mandatory respondents in these reviews based on the volume of exports from high to low according to data from CBP. Within 90 days from the date of publication of the initiation notice, parties may withdraw their requests for review (by December 10, 2023). The DOC intends to issue the latest determination no later than July 31, 2024.
For more details, please download the notice here.
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